The Girl Who Carried The Wings of Freedom On Her Back
by Grey Otaku
Summary: In the 104th group of trainees, a cold girl with incredible abilities appears, surpassing even humanity's greatest soldier. As soon as she enters the Survey Corps, everyone realizes she can change the tide of this impossible war. Could she be humanity's last hope, if there is any hope at all?
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Attack On Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin whatsoever (it would be cool if I did, though). It all belongs to Hajime Isayama, except for my OC(s)._**

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** Chapter 1: Eyes That Had Seen Hell **

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**Eren POV**

They all stood in lines that matched up perfectly. No one was out of step, even though not a single one of them had been trained as soldier, at least not yet. Eren supposed that they all had been scared into perfection by the man glaring daggers at them. He watched the man walk toward them and begin to inspect their rows and walk past faces. He stopped at nearly every one, asking them, screaming at them, their name and their purpose for being here. When he didn't get a response he liked, he yelled at them to change their name or to leave immediately. Several times, a head but or punch to the face was performed. He walked past Eren without a sound, just a fleeting glance.

As Eren watched the man inspect people, he noticed that he was only coming into contact with a certain type of person. It wasn't because of a physical trait, like blonde hair or blue eyes or height. Every person who he yelled at all had gentle, carefree expressions and kind eyes. Every person he glanced over had eyes hardened by grief and trauma that no human being wanted to cope with, such as Eren and Mikasa. But then there were the people the man didn't dare even make eye contact with. People whose eyes were so hard and cold that no one wanted to know what they had seen or what they felt. People whose eyes had seen absolute hell. There weren't many people like this. Eren only could see two from where he was standing.

They were standing side by side, each of them rigid and silently watching, one of them a boy and one a girl. They were most likely about Eren's age, 12 or so, but they looked far more mature. The boy had tussled golden blond hair that brushed the tips of his ears and the collar of his new trainee corps jacket; a few strands fell in his face, but didn't fall any lower than his eyebrows. His eyes were a dark shade of gray and shone in the faint afternoon sun. If Eren were a girl, he would have considered him rather hansom, with an attractive face and a tall stature.

Eren's gaze shifted to the female. The girl had long blond hair that looked rather ashy and gray that brushed her mid back and lay on top of her rather supple chest. Her eyes were also gray, like his, but they were far paler, almost translucent. The look on her face was cool, unmoving, unchanging. Being male, Eren noticed how beautiful she was, with arched eyebrows and delicate cheekbones and jaw. By the way the two looked, they were obviously from the same place, but not from the same family.

Eren looked at them for the entirety of the process, ignoring the fearful responses from his fellow trainees and the distant yelling. When they were all finished, several of the trainees left immediately, abandoning already. Those that were left were assigned to cabins containing both males and females. The cabins all ate in one building. It was small, nearly identical to the cabins, but it contained rows of wooden tables cascaded in warm yellow candlelight.

The first night that they ate together, people who didn't know anyone sat together at awkward groups in the middle of the tables, not really conversing, just staring at each other. Then there were the groups of unfamiliar people who conversed anyway, asking each other where they were from, how old they were, if they had any family. Then there were little groups of people who already knew each other who sat on the outskirts, towards the darker reaches of the room. Eren, Mikasa and Armin were one such group. Behind even these groups, Eren saw the two people from earlier. They sat next to each other in a dark corner of the room. They appeared to be talking very quietly, eating slowly. Eren leaned his ear over, and although they were only a few tables away, he couldn't decipher a word they were saying. He turned back to the table.

"You're interested in them, aren't you?" Mikasa asked, picking at her peas.

"Yeah," Eren responded, "They've been through worse than we have."

"That's what I was thinking," Armin chimed in.

They all peaked over to the table, hoping the pair wouldn't take notice. Eren soon realized that some of the other trainees had an interest in the two as well. He spotted a large boy, about 14, walk over to the table, flanked by two other males, probably from the same village.

"Where are you two quiet guys from?" He asked, focusing on the girl. He obviously noticed her looks.

The male was quick to respond. "Maria's Grave," He said without flinching, his sentence followed by a bite of mashed potatoes.

The tall guy was taken aback. "Maria's Grave? Nobody survived that!"

He was right. Maria's Grave was a small village no one cared to remember the name of. It was the village directly behind Zhingashina District, and had been absolutely massacred by a large group of aberrants. It was reported that no one survived, that was common knowledge.

"Prove you're from that village!" The tall boy snapped at the pair.

The girl stood up and Eren watched in shock as she quickly shed her jacket and pulled her white shirt over her head, revealing just her bra and skin, her companion not far behind. For a moment, Eren, and many others, both male and female, simply stared, red-faced. When he came to, he saw the scars.

Every body that was examined from Maria's Grave all had one thing in common; long, jagged, x-shaped scars that criss-crossed everywhere on their bodies. No one knew where they came from, but they marred every single victim's flesh, including the flesh of these two.

The scars should have been five years old, but still looked remarkably fresh, and incredibly visible. They were everywhere across their chests and they wrapped around their sides and their backs. The girl had one that crept up to peep over her jaw, with the other slash narrowly avoiding slitting her throat. She was lucky it missed. The boy had quite a few on his already muscular arms, ripping through his biceps and near his forearms and wrists.

"Do you believe us now?" The male said, raising his eyebrows.

The boy gaped at them and simply took off his jacket and handed it to the girl. "Put a damn shirt on."

The girl took his jacket and threw it back in his face. "I don't want your clothes. I can handle myself better than you can." She picked up her shirt and jacket and walked out of the door. The boy followed.

After they left, the entire room erupted in chatter. Eren turned to Mikasa and Armin.

"To think that there were actually survivors of Maria' Grave." Armin said. "Why would the monarchy keep that a secret?" He said exactly what we were all thinking.

Why would the monarchy withhold information like this? Eren could only imagine.

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The next day, Eren discovered the Maria's Grave pair's names. The girl was named Ashuri Lamphi and the boy's name was Greyfis Ehr. They kept to themselves, only exchanging words between each other and authority, but only when requested. They kept to themselves during meals, still sitting at their lonely table, still talking in hushed tones. The bulky boy from the first night never approached them again, and whenever Eren saw them, he practically saw the scars glow through their clothes.

During the first week, when they tested everyone for compatibility with 3D Maneuver Gear, an area he was not doing too well in, they balanced perfectly, not even swaying like Mikasa. When they started training in martial arts, Ashuri nearly broke his legs on more than one occasion and Greyfis managed to knock the wind out of his six times in one fight. He could tell they would probably graduate at the top of their class in three years time.

But, however skilled they were, they were cold. Never talking to anyone else, always secluded and ahead of everyone else. It was an entire month before he saw a glimmer of kindness from Ashuri. It was during another thirty mile run and Armin collapsed about twenty miles in. Ashuri stopped and helped him stand and brush himself off, only giving him a nod when he said thank you. According to Armin, she had also whispered a few choice words of encouragement in his ear.

Months passed by, and they still remained distant, always by themselves. Not many tried to approach them. When they did, it was only to hit on Ashuri, who flat out rejected every one.

Eren watched them with what could be considered an unhealthy curiosity, but he couldn't resist. They were somewhat like that unfamiliar territory that lay beyond the walls; foreign, intimidating and distant. Eren didn't know what to think of them.

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**Well, that's it! The first chapter of my very first fic! What do you guys think? Please rate and review.**

**Also, I'll try to get the next chapter posted by 11/24, so if you're intrigued, just wait for more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Attack On Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin whatsoever (it would be cool if I did, though). It all belongs to Hajime Isayama, except for my OC(s)._**

**_Also, please review! I want to know if you all are liking my first fic!_**

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**Chapter 2: Two Years Later**

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**Ashuri POV**

Tonight was the second anniversary of the entrance of the 104th group of trainees, and it was apparently a cause for celebration. That night, every trainee gathered in the cramped dining room, filling the space with chatter so loud, Ashuri could barely think over the din. There was a lot of laughter that floated over everyone's head. Celebrations also indicated feasting, as there were tables of breads, vegetable and meats. There was even a small selection of sweet, chocolate, cake-like things. This was all accompanied by a little alcohol smuggled in by some of the older trainees. It wasn't touched by many below the age of fifteen, though.

She had never really been to any sort of celebration like this. The village she had grown up in was filled with honest, hard-working people who never really hosted extravagant celebrations. A simple meal with a little wine and dancing would always suffice. Because of this, she felt a little out of place, the same with Greyfis.

"It's loud in here." Greyfis commented, staring at a group of trainees their age dancing some awful form of a jig in the center of the room. "Do you want to go outside?"

"That sounds nice. Better than in here." She replied, picking up her untouched glass of wine.

She had always liked wine. Her mother had given her a few tastes when she was younger, and she found the taste somewhat foul, but good nonetheless. Although she didn't intend to take more than a sip, she thought it seemed cordial to at least accept a little from the older female trainee going around offering it to everyone in the room.

She followed Greyfis so that they were out on the little covered porch at the front of the cabin, the door closed behind them. "It's hard to believe we've been here for two years." She commented, leaning on the wooden railing.

"Mm-hmm," He nodded in agreement.

"Where do you think all of this will get us in the end?" Ashuri asked, glancing over at Greyfis.

"Well, we could be dead the second we graduate, which wouldn't get us anywhere. Or we could end up high-ranking officers, mediocrity wouldn't help us." He replied. "I see no other alternative."

She didn't reply, but agreed with him wholeheartedly. "Yes, I suppose our paths are limited…" She trailed off, and spotted someone walking toward them. They were short, and Ashuri recognized the figure immediately.

"Go ahead," Greyfis said, turning toward her. "I'll be fine by myself." He let a slight grin touch his hansom features.

Ashuri managed to lift the corners of her mouth as well and walked toward the figure. "It's awfully late for training, isn't it Levi?"

"It's only nine o'clock, you can train now." He replied, looking up at her as she approached. With her being 5'8, she was a considerable five inches taller than him.

"Where's my maneuver gear?" Ashuri asked, walking toward the woods with him.

"I've decided you should work on hand-to-hand combat for a while. You've been intensely training with your maneuver gear for several weeks straight with me and in your normal training. I've decided it's time you give your muscles a break for now." He responded, guiding her to a small clearing on the outskirts of the forest.

Ashuri was thankful for this break. As strong as she was, the muscles in her back had been bothering her a little for quite a while. She had been going through extensive training with Levi ever since Shadis had seen her potential about a year ago. Apparently, Commander Erwin had personally chosen humanity's greatest soldier to train her, so she figured she must be considered something special.

When they came to a halt, Levi removed his Survey Corps cloak and took his stance. Ashuri mirrored his stance, ready to strike. Then she moved and went for a quick uppercut to the underneath of his jaw, to the left side. He anticipated this and threw up his forearm in response. Her fist slammed into him and she responded quickly with bringing her knee up to contact his stomach. Unfortunately, he evaded and sent her heel twisting a little farther than she liked. He took this opportunity to strike with a kick to the leg. She swept herself out of the way at the last second and managed to sweep his legs out from under him

Levi recovered quickly, though, and was back in his upright position before she managed to slam her shoulder into his. He staggered back a few feet. "You're getting better," But he knew that better wasn't enough for Ashuri.

Ashuri managed to land a rather hard hit on Levi's collarbone, a rather painful hit too and it showed with a little flicker in his calm demeanor that was so much like hers. But he responded with a hard kick to her side that knocked the wind from her. In this moment, he managed to kick her again straight underneath her chin, causing her to bite her tongue and some blood leak out of her mouth. She coughed and immediately moved. Ashuri decided this was going to be her last strike. She kicked him hard in the stomach and elbowed him in the throat.

Levi fell, coughing. He then looked up and gave her a very slight, cold smile. He stood up and brushed himself off and stuck his hand out. "Congratulations. But you still have a great deal of improvement to do. For example, your form in that first kick was off-balance."

Ashuri shook his hand. "I am well aware of it. I twisted my ankle after all." She had managed to mask it for the fight, but now it hurt to put weight on it. "Again."

They fought for a few hours, until both were rather covered in bruises and Ashuri's knuckles were cut up. Levi had won most of the time, but Ashuri had managed to beat him a few times. When they finished, she wiped her hands on the inside of her jacket and walked with him toward the exit of the training grounds.

"Why are you here, Ashuri?" Levi asked, not stopping his brisk pace.

She thought about it for a moment, "You understand what I've been through. I want to prevent any others from experiencing the same pain that I did." She paused. "And you?"

He didn't respond. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow night. Don't bring your maneuver gear." And then he was gone.

She sighed and began to walk back to the dining cabin, hoping that the celebration was still in full swing. She didn't want to cover vanishing for several hours at night. Thankfully, when the little building came back into view, candlelight was streaming from the windows and you could hear voices seeping through the cracks in the windows and doors. When she stepped on the porch, she regretted looking around. There were pairs of older initiates, obviously a little tipsy, who were making out. Ashuri carefully slipped through the door, glad to be rid of that sight, and blended back into the crowd.

She spotted Greyfis in a corner, reading a small volume, and headed over. Every step caused pain to shoot up her left leg, but she tried her best to mask her limp. She sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder.

"What happened to your ankle?" He asked, looking up, eyebrows raised. "Did he push you hard tonight?"

"Dammit, I'm trying my best to hide it." She muttered. "I twisted it during on of our fights.

"What else happened?" He inquired, examining one of her cut hands.

"Mostly just bruises and my hands, but I pulled a muscle near my shoulder blades, though. That won't be helped by 3D maneuver gear." She sighed.

"You just have another year of it. Then we'll be in the Survey Corps and you won't have deal with such intensive training."

"That's what I hope. But I don't think I'll ever be out of Levi's reach." She said. "We're too alike."

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**Well, that's chapter 2! Please review and favorite! I'll try to have the next chapter posted by 11/25.**


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